Succession of intertidal organisms after the subsidence by the Great East Japan Earthquake

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24580279
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: General fisheries
• Research Institution: Kitasato University
• Principal Investigator: KADO Ryusuke 北里大学, 海洋生命科学部, 教授 (40161137)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): NANBA Nobuyoshi 北里大学, 海洋生命科学部, 准教授 (20296429)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 生物多様性 / 潮間帯生物相 / チシマフジツボ / ナンオウフジツボ / キタムラサキウニ / 捕食圧 / 東日本大震災 / 地盤沈下

Outline of Final Research Achievements

To survey the influence of the Great East Japan Earthquake to intertidal organisms, succession of intertidal communities have been observed at a quay in Okirai Bay, Iwate Prefecture for three years.
The results were as follows: 1) The succession observed after the earthquake was not special, but was the same succession occurred when predation pressure by sea urchins Strongyrocentrotus nudus would be lowered artificially in the field. 2) They decreased biodiversity of shallow water communities. 3) Intertidal barnacle Semibalanus cariosus plays a role to increase biodiversity by offering their shells as a substrate to other sessile organisms. 4) If the earthquake had occurred at other season, different succession would have been observed. 5) Barge and the tugboats settled alien barnacles on the hull in their home port have brought them involuntarily to the area that were suffered from the Tsunami and needed restoration. 6) The same events will be able to occur when they returned.

Free Research Field

海洋生物生態学